Adjustable pouch with lace tightening mechanism having enclosed protected laces

ABSTRACT

An adjustable pouch or pocket for carrying an armor plate, integrates a lace tightening system for adjusting the pouch size, fit, and/or tightness about the armor plate, for snuggly holding the armor plate within an interior cavity of the pouch. The pouch can be adjusted for use with armor plates of varying shapes and sizes. The tightening mechanism has a rotatable knob connected to at least one lace extending between an arrangement of panels of the pouch, wherein rotation of the knob in a tightening direction tightens the at least one lace extending between the panels to pull at least two of the panels of the arrangement together in the at least one dimension to tighten the arrangement of panels about the armor plate when received in the interior cavity and such that the shape and size of the interior cavity will be reduced in the at least one dimension to closely equal the shape and size of the armor plate so that the pouch snugly holds the armor plate within the interior cavity.

This application is a division of co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/478,321/ filed Jul. 16, 2019, which application wassubmitted under 35 U.S.C. 371 claiming priority to PCT/US2018/14119,filed Jan. 17, 2018, which application claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/447,408, filed Jan. 17, 2017.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates generally to a pouch or pocket for carrying anarticle such as one or more ammunition magazines, armor plates,batteries, radios, grenades, bottles, and the like in hostileenvironments, and more particularly that uses a lace tighteningmechanism for adjusting the pouch size, fit, and/or tightness about thearticle or articles, that has a lace or laces largely or substantiallyincorporated into an arrangement of one or more enclosed cavities orpockets in or between panels of the arrangement so as to be protectedfrom exposure and potential damage while still allowing free movement ofthe lace or laces, and which largely isolates the laces from the carriedarticle or articles to avoid snagging and catching on the article whenbeing inserted into or removed from the pouch.

BACKGROUND ART

The disclosures of co-pending patent application Ser. No. 16/478,321,filed Jul. 16, 2019, PCT application Serial No. PCT/US2018/14119, filedJan. 1″, 2018, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/447,408, filedJan. 17, 2017, are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Various lacing systems utilizing are available for use in connectionwith carrying various articles, and suffer from various drawbacks. Forexample, some lacing systems include exposed laces, which can be damagedand/or unintentionally caught on objects such as branches, thorns,grass, etc., in hostile environments and actuated (e.g., loosened),resulting in problems, failures, etc. Reference in this regard. Burnset. al., U.S. Patent Publication No. 2013/0269219, entitled TighteningMechanisms and Applications Including the Same, hereby incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety; and various lace tightening systemscommercially available from the assignee of the underlying invention,Boa Technology Inc. of Denver Colo. USA. While these applications of theBoa lace tightening system adequately conceal and protect the tighteningmechanism, the laces are largely routed so as to be exposed and subjectto environmental elements and damage. Accordingly, there persists a needfor lacing systems that include better protected laces.

Another drawback to be avoided for many applications would be a laceexposed to the interior of a pouch or pocket so as to potentiallyunintentionally catch on or entangle with an article as it is beinginserted or removed to impede or prevent that action or unintentionallyactivate or deactivate the article. As an example, pockets for carryingammunition or grenades should allow them to be quickly and smoothlydeliberately withdrawn using sufficient manual force to overcome thetension of the lacing system, and the lacing system is desirablytensioned to prevent unintentional removal as a result of normalactivities such as jumping or falling. As another example, it would beundesirable to unintentionally activate or deactivate a radio, beacon,flashlight, or the like while inserting it into or removing it from apouch or pocket.

It is also sought for some applications to provide a pouch, pocket, orthe like, that is adjustable in interior cavity dimension or size in atleast one direction, so as to accommodate articles of different sizes ortypes, so that a smaller range of sizes and shapes of pouches or pocketscan be utilized for holding a larger range articles.

Thus, what is sought is an adjustable pouch or pocket for securelycarrying one or more articles that overcomes one or more of theshortcomings and limitations set forth above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

What is disclosed is an adjustable pouch or pocket for securely carryingone or more articles such an ammunition magazine, armor plate, battery,telephone, radio, grenade, bottle, first aid pack, weapon, and the like,suitable for use in hostile environments, and that overcomes one or moreof the shortcomings and limitations set forth above.

As a preferred aspect of the invention, the pouch or pocket (hereinsometimes collectively or interchangeably referred to using the term“pouch”) utilizes a lace tightening mechanism such as, but not limitedto, any of several commercially available from Boa Technology Inc. orDenver Colo. USA for adjusting the pouch size, fit, and/or tightnessabout the article or articles. This is achieved using a lace or laces,which can be polymer, metal, natural material, of monofilament ormultifilament construction, having adequate strength for holding adesired article or articles within a pouch. As a representative butnon-limiting example, the tightening mechanism can be constructed andoperable in the manner described and illustrated in Burns et al., U.S.Patent Publication No. 2013/0269219, essentially manually operable byrotation of an external knob of a ratchet mechanism to rotate aninternal spool or spools onto which the lace or laces is/are wound. Thelaces extend from the mechanism to form a loop which is routed inconnection with panels forming the pouch such that as the lace or lacesis/are drawn toward the tightening mechanism they are shortened to pullone of the panels toward an opposite panel, or the panels together, toreduce one or more dimensions of an interior cavity bound and defined bythe panels. Here, it should be understood that by the terms “lace” or“laces”, what is meant is the ends of a single or multiple piece longwire, string, filament, etc., or multiple ones, having two ends thatattach to the tightening mechanism, or one end attached to thetightening mechanism and another attached to another location, e.g.,fixed location, so that when the mechanism is operated to tighten, atleast one of the ends is drawn toward the mechanism.

As another preferred aspect of the invention, the pouch or pocket isconfigured to protect or shield the laces from exposure to theenvironment, so that they are not damaged, or exposed so as to becomecaught or entangled with hazards such as vines, branches, wire, etc.,and thereby restrict movement. This is particularly important forapplications such as wherein the pouch is carried on a person's body,for instance, as part of the kit of a soldier, sailor, marine, lawenforcement officer, etc., where freedom of movement is imperative andthe wearer may be crawling through brush and or debris, or movingthrough underbrush, concealment netting, wire, fences, obstacles, etc.Also in this context of the invention, the surfaces of the panelscomprising the pouch that bound and define the interior cavity of thepouch are preferably configured such that the laces are isolated orseparated from the interior cavity so as not to catch on or entanglewith an article to be held in the interior cavity so as to prevent itsinsertion and/or removal, and so that the laces will not interact withelements of an article, such as a switch, e.g., telephone, radio, so asto unintentionally activate or deactivate it. The panels are furtherpreferably arranged so as to be relatively movable without binding orcreasing, including when an article or articles are located in theinterior cavity and the pouch is tightened or snugged about it/them.

As still another preferred aspect, the pouch or pockets of the inventionare configured and operable to securely hold an article or articles, soas to prevent unintentional removal from the pouch, while still allowingrapid intentional manual removal in a predetermined manner, such as, butnot limited to, using a single hand in a manual pulling action in apredetermined direction. This has been found to be useful in stressfulsituations such as during combat and particularly during emergencysituations including when time is of the essence. As another preferredaspect the configuration of the pouches additionally allows removal ofthe article substantially silently.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of an embodiment of an adjustable pouchconstructed and operable according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a generally bottom perspective view of the pouch of FIG. 1,showing and adjusting knob of a tightening mechanism of the pouch;

FIG. 3 is a generally side perspective view of the pouch of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a generally front and side perspective view of the pouch,showing MOLLE PALS compatible slits on a front surface of the pouch;

FIG. 5 is a top view of the pouch, showing aspects of an interior cavitythereof;

FIG. 6 is a bottom rear perspective view of the pouch, showing andadjusting knob of a tightening mechanism thereof, and MOLLE PALScompatible straps on a rear surface thereof for attaching the pouch to agarment or other object;

FIG. 7 is a rear view of the pouch, showing a side panel thereofwithdrawn from a rear cavity or pocket within a rear panel and anassociated lace of the tightening mechanism routed through a guidewayattached to the side panel;

FIG. 8 is another rearview of the pouch, showing the mounting straps,and tongues of two side panels of the pouch removed from the rear cavityor pocket and associated laces and guideways on the tongues of the sidepanels;

FIG. 9 is a generally side perspective view of the pouch, squeezed toopen the rear cavity or pocket to show routing of the laces and aninternal guideway;

FIG. 10 is a rear side perspective view of the pouch, showing thetongues of the two side panels withdrawn from the rear cavity or pocket,and the associated laces and guideways;

FIG. 11 is a front view of the pouch, showing an ammunition magazineextending from the internal cavity;

FIG. 12 is a layout view of an integral fabric component for a pouch ofthe invention, such as, but not limited to, the pouch of FIGS. 1-11;

FIG. 13 is a layout view of a stiffening member for use with the pouchesof the invention;

FIG. 14 is a layout view of another fabric component for a pouch of theinvention;

FIG. 15 is a layout view of a fabric component for Molle PALS compatiblestraps for a pouch of the invention;

FIG. 16 is a simplified schematic rear view of a pouch of the invention,showing aspects of a panel arrangement and tightening mechanism thereoffor tightening panels about an article held in an internal cavity of thepouch, showing operational aspects thereof;

FIG. 16A is a simplified schematic rear view of the pouch of FIG. 16,showing an alternative lace routing;

FIG. 17 is a simplified schematic rear view of another pouch of theinvention, showing aspects of a panel arrangement and tighteningmechanism thereof for tightening panels about an article held in aninternal cavity of the pouch, showing operational aspects thereof;

FIG. 17A is a simplified schematic rear view of the pouch of FIG. 17,showing an alternative lace routing;

FIG. 18 is a simple side schematic rear view of another pouch of theinvention, shown holding an article which is an armor plate;

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a representative tightening mechanismthat can be used with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings wherein preferred embodiments of theinvention are shown, in FIGS. 1-18 a preferred adjustable pouch 20, anda pouch 76 (FIG. 18), generally comprising a front panel 22; a sidepanel 24; and opposite side panel 26; and a bottom panel 28; that withan interior rear panel 56 associated with an outer rear panel 30(removed for clarity in FIGS. 16-18), bound and define an interiorcavity 32 (FIG. 5) accessible through an opening 34. Panels 22-30 and 56can be constructed of suitable material, such as but not limited to, aballistic or non-ballistic nylon, composite or laminate such as, but notlimited to an impregnated laminate sold under the Hypalon tradename,rubber or plastics sheet, leather, mesh, or the like, and can beindividually stiffened with one or more stiffening layers of a suitablematerial such as a polymer such as a nylon, polyethylene, or acrylic ormetal sheet material, card stock, etc. One or more of panels 22-30 canbe integrally formed from a single pattern or sheet of material (seeFIG. 12), and/or sewn, adhered or otherwise suitably attached to theother panels. For instance front panel 22 and side panels 24, 26 can beformed of the same sheet of material, folded accordingly. As can beobserved, the material can be optionally configured to have a pattern ofslits 36 through any of the surfaces of the panels, e.g., for attachmentof MOLLE PALS compatible accessories, and for mounting or attaching thepouch 20 as desired. In this latter regard, slits 36 are shown providedon outer rear panel 30 for cooperatively receiving straps 38 in a wovenconfiguration in the well known manner for integrating the pouch with aMOLLE PALS system on a companion garment such as a vest, carrier, webbelt, pack, other object, or the like, such as commonly worn by militaryand law enforcement personnel.

Referring to FIGS. 12-15, the integral front, side, and rear panels 22,24, 26, 30, and 56, are illustrated, as is a liner panel 80 that issewn, adhered, or otherwise integrated with front and bottom panels 22and 28 for reinforcement, and stiffening member 74 that is integratedwith interior rear panel 56, e.g. by sewing, adhesion, etc., to stiffenit. Straps 38 are sewn onto the outer rear panel 30 or elsewhere onpouch 20 for use with slits 36 for weaving to a MOLLE PALS system, asdesired.

Pouch 20 is exemplary of configurations for carrying a wide variety ofarticles, such as, but not limited to, one or more ammunition magazines;batteries; grenades; radios; telephones; navigation devices or aids;batteries; cameras; bottles; first aid kits or devices, etc., and thebasic configurations and operability of pouch 20 and pouch 76 aresuitable to be sized and shaped for receiving and snugging about anarmor plate within a range of sizes and shapes. As an example, one sizepouch 20 or 76 can be used for holding different armor plates the sizeand shape of which can vary within the adjustment range of the pouch 20.

Pouch 20 is desirably adjustable such that interior cavity 32 can beenlarged or reduced in sectional extent when viewed from above or below.Here, it should be understood that the directional references front,rear, side, bottom, top, upper and lower, are for reference only hereinand thus are not limiting. This adjustability is desirable andconvenient to allow use of a single size pouch with articles within arange of sizes, and for tightening or snugging the pouch about anarticle received therein to a desired extent, such as, but not limitedto, so as to securely retain and hold the article under anticipatedconditions, such as while running or riding in an open vehicle,swimming, parachuting, or the like, while allowing rapid removal with asingle handed action. In this regard, the adjustability can allow a userto tighten the pouch 20 more securely for rugged conditions, then loosenthe pouch to a desired extent, for operational use, such as the rapidwithdrawal of the held article. The pouch can be configured such that anarticle or articles can be fully received in the interior cavity, orextend outwardly therefrom as illustrated by FIGS. 11, 16, and 17.

To provide the ability to adjust the size of pouch 20 or pouch 76, itincludes a tightening mechanism 40 (see also FIG. 19) comprising arotatable knob 42 mounted for rotation relative to a base housing 44that, in this embodiment, is affixed on bottom panel 2S of pouch 20, andon the rear of pouch 76, but can be located anywhere on the pouch asdesired or required, for a particular application. This is contemplatedto include the concealing of mechanism 40 behind any of the associatedpanels.

As best shewn in FIGS. 16-18, mechanism 40 includes a pair of laces 46and 48 (can be ends of a single wire, string, or filament, or separatewires, strings, filaments) that are routed within pouch 20 about sideguideways 50 and 52 mounted to opposite edges of tongues 68 and 70 ofside panels 24 and 26, respectively, to couple the laces 46, 48 to thosepanels to enable the laces 46, 48 to pull or move the panels 24, 26, asshown by associated arrows, while allowing sliding movement of the lacesrelative thereto required for the tightening action, as the knob 42 isrotated as shown by the associated arrows in FIGS. 16-18. On pouch 20,an additional upper guideway 54 is mounted on a surface of interior rearpanel 56 that with outer rear panel 30 bounds and defines a rear cavityor pocket 58 having opposite side openings 60, and 62, adjacent to sidepanels 24, 26, respectively. Guideway 54 is preferably located at theupper end region of panel 56, so as to be opposite the bottom mountedbase housing 44 and panel 56 is preferably stiffened, as a non-limitingexample, by a stiffening member 74 (see FIGS. 13, 16, 16A, 17, 17A),which, as a non-limiting example can comprise a sheet of polymer or thelike, so that guideway 54 is not displaced significantly toward housing44 as the laces are tightened if that is desired.

Alternatively, the interior rear panel 56 alone or with outer rear panel30 can be constructed and fashioned so as to be controllably flexed to acontrolled extent by the tightening of mechanism 40 so that the upperregion of the rear panel 56 will bear against and snug an article suchas magazine 64 when located in cavity 32. It should be recognized thusthat the effects the sideward movement of side panels 24, 26 into andtoward the center region of the rear cavity or pocket 58 is preferablythe main manner of snugging and holding an article located in cavity 32,but for instance, where extra security is desired, the optionalcontrolled flexibility of panel 56 can be employed to snug against theupper region of the article in the vicinity of opening 34, if desired.This controlled flexibility can be achieved in any desired manner suchas by scoring a line across the stiffening member 74 or otherwiseappropriately weakening it in an appropriate location relative toguideway 54.

Mechanism 40 can be a commercially available tightening mechanism suchas disclosed in Burns et al., U.S. Patent Publication No. 2013/0269219,Goodman et al. U.S. Pat. No. 9,408,437 32 issued Aug. 9, 2016, andSoderberg et al., U.S. Pat. No. 9,138,030 B2 issued Sep. 22, 2015, allincorporated herein in their entireties, and commercially available fromBoa Technologies.

This rear cavity or pocket is desirable and of substantial utility, asit provides a space for variably receiving free ends or tongues 68, 70,respectively, of side panels 24 and 26 through the side openings 60, 62,respectively, for relative movement of the side panels within the rearcavity or pocket relative to rear panels 30 and 56 (see associatedarrows in FIGS. 16 and 17) for adjusting or tightening the pouch todesired extents. In this regard, it should be apparent that thetightening of mechanism 40 will impart tension in laces 46, 48 and pullthem as shown by the associated arrows to impart forces to side panels24, 26 in a direction toward the center of rear pocket or cavity 58 andthus toward each other to effect the reduction in the sectional extent,here, sideward, of the interior cavity 32 if empty, or the snugging ofside panels 24, 26 against an article contained in cavity 32, such asmagazine 64.

Rear cavity or pocket 58 is also advantageously employed tosubstantially completely internally route laces 46, 48 so as to beprotected from the environment and also isolated from interior cavity 32for the above explained advantages. Here, laces 46 and 48 are routedabout side guideways 50 and 52 on tongues 68 and 70, respectively, andabout guideway 54 (see FIG. 16), and cross one time in that vicinity,although other patterns can be used, such as a criss-cross patternsimilar to those commonly used for footwear (see FIGS. 17, 17A, 18), allwithin pocket 58. In pocket 20 the laces 46, 48 extend externally for ashort distance to enter lace ports on base housing 44, but that is not anecessity and they and the lace ports 66 can be completely internalized,if desired. Here also, by substantially, what is meant is that at leastabout 90 percent of the lengths of laces 4, 48 are covered.

Here it is also be mentioned that the surface or surfaces of interiorrear panel 56 and/or outer rear panel 30 facing rear pocket or cavity 58can optionally comprise a material having a lower coefficient offriction than other surfaces of the panels, to provide ease and silenceof movement of laces 46, 48 and guideways 52, 54 thereover. In thisregard, it is contemplated that a pouch such as pouch 20 will be tightlyattached to a supporting structure such as a load bearing platform of agarment such as an armor carrier or tactical vest, cummerbund, or thelike, and the pouch 20 can carry relatively heavy objects such as anammunition magazine or magazines 64, so that substantial tension may beapplied to laces 46 and 48 and such that they can have a tendency to cutmaterial that they cross. Employing a low coefficient of friction yetstiff surface in contact with the laces such as here has utility forpreventing wear and potential failure under contemplated loadingconditions.

In operation, by rotation of knob 42 as illustrated variously andparticularly in FIGS. 16 and 17, forces are applied by laces 46, 48against side panels 24, 26 to simultaneously drawn them through therespective side openings 60, 62 (by the drawing of laces 46, 48 towardtightening mechanism 40, as shown by the associated arrows), into pocket53, so that crimping creasing, and other problems are avoided and thelaces 46, 48 are substantially completely protected from the environmentand from contact with the article or articles held in the pouch. It canbe understood that rotation of the knob 42 as illustrated will translateinto the exertion of the forces against the side panels to tighten orsnug front panel 22 also about, an article or articles held in thecavity, such as the ammunition magazine 64 shown. To reduce thetightness, knob 42 can be pulled away from base housing 44 to releasethe laces 46, 48 and the applied forces so that the side panels can beeasily and conveniently pulled to a desired extent from pocket 58.

Here, it should be noted that knob 42 can be located at a variety oflocations, including on any of the panels of the pouch 20, as desired orrequired for a particular application. It should also be noted that knob42 can be internalized, such as by being located within pocket or cavity58 so as to be protected also.

Still further, it should be understood that the invention can be scaledfor a variety of applications, such as for holding larger articles suchas large armor plates 72 that are several times larger than the magazine64 shewn.

In this regard, FIG. 18 shows pouch 76 that can be incorporated into agarment 78 which can be for instance an armor carrier, tactical vest,cummerbund, neck protector, groin protector or the like, and receive andhold armor plate 72 in interior cavity 32 bound and defined by a frontpanel (covered by the armor plate in this view), side panels 24, 26, andupper and lower rear panels 56A and 56B respectively. A panel or edge ofa panel or between two panels, can include a suitable slot or openingthat enables inserting plate 72 into cavity 32, and removing it, andwhich can be closed by a suitable closure device such as a hook and loopfastening system, flap, zipper, or the like, with the interior extent ordimensions of the cavity being adjustable by the tightening (orloosening) of tightening mechanism 40 to accommodate the particularplate selected, and as shown by the associated arrows. Here it can beobserved that a split upper and lower rear panel 56A, 56B configurationcan be used, or a single rear panel 56, as desired or required. Herealso it can be seen that in this configuration illustrated, theemployment of guideway 54 on a movable portion of rear panel will effectthe reduction or enlargement of the dimension between rear panels 56A,56B, for adjusting that extent of cavity 32. This is optional and thisdimension can be fixed if desired by employing a fixed rear panel 56 asdescribed above. Thus, it should be understood that it is contemplatedthat an additional direction or directions of adjustability can beprovided, for instance by allowing some bending or flexibility ofinterior rear panel 56 so as to be pullable to some extent, toward basehousing 44 of the tightening mechanism 40, that a multiple piece rearpanel 56A, 56B arrangement can be used, and that multiple tighteningmechanisms can be used, as desired or required for an application. Inthis latter regard, separate tightening mechanisms 40 could be used fortightening the pouch in different directions. Further, it should benoted that the role of the outer rear panel 30 (not shown) can be servedby an element of the associated garment 78, such as by locating pouch 76within an outer pouch or load bearing platform such as utilized on avariety of armor carriers and tactical vests.

In light of all the foregoing, it should thus be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that there has been shown and described a noveladjustable pouch with lace tightening mechanism having closed protectedlaces. However, it should also foe apparent that, within the principlesand scope of the invention, many changes are possible and contemplated,including in the details, materials, and arrangements of parts whichhave been described and illustrated to explain the nature of theinvention. Thus, while the foregoing description and discussionaddresses certain preferred embodiments or elements of the invention, itshould further be understood that concepts of the invention, as basedupon the foregoing description and discussion, may be readilyincorporated into or employed in other embodiments and constructionswithout departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, thefollowing claims are intended to protect the invention broadly as wellas in the specific form shown, and all changes, modifications,variations, and other uses and applications which do not depart from thespirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by theinvention, which is limited only by the claims which follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. An adjustable pouch for holding an armor platehaving a predetermined overall shape and size, comprising: anarrangement of panels defining an interior cavity having an overallshape and size larger than the overall shape and size of the armor platein at least one dimension, the armor plate being receivable in theinterior cavity; and a tightening mechanism coupled to the arrangement,the tightening mechanism comprising a rotatable knob connected to atleast one lace extending between the panels, wherein rotation of theknob in a tightening direction tightens the at least one lace extendingbetween the panels to pull at least two of the panels of the arrangementtogether in the at least one dimension to tighten the arrangement ofpanels about the armor plate when received in the interior cavity andsuch that the shape and size of the interior cavity will be reduced inthe at least one dimension to closely equal the shape and size of thearmor plate so that the pouch snugly holds the armor plate within theinterior cavity.
 2. The adjustable pouch of claim 1, wherein the pouchis incorporated into a garment.
 3. The adjustable pouch of claim 2,wherein the garment comprises an armor carrier, a tactical vest, acummerbund, a neck protector, or a groin protector.
 4. A. The adjustablepouch of claim 3, wherein the overall shape of the interior cavity ofthe arrangement of panels and the overall shape of the armor plate isquadrilateral.
 5. The adjustable pouch of claim 1, wherein thearrangement of panels defines an opening connected to the interiorcavity, such that the opening will overlay a surface of the armor platewhen received in the interior cavity.
 6. The adjustable pouch of claim5, wherein the at least one lace is coupled to one of the panels in amanner to pull the one of the panels toward the opening when the atleast one lace is tightened.
 7. The adjustable pouch of claim 5, whereinthe at least one lace is coupled to all of the panels in a manner topull the panels toward the opening when the at least one lace istightened.
 8. The adjustable pouch of claim 7, wherein the at least, onelace extends across the opening.
 9. The adjustable pouch, of claim 5,wherein the rotatable knob is disposed on one of the panels beside theopening.
 10. The adjustable pouch of claim 5, wherein the opening iscentered about the armor plate.
 11. The adjustable pouch of claim 5,wherein the panels each include at least one guideway bounding theopening.
 12. The adjustable pouch of claim 1, wherein the panels of thearrangement of panels defining the interior cavity are integrallyattached.
 13. The adjustable pouch of claim 1, wherein at least some ofthe panels of the arrangement of panels defining an interior cavity arejoined together by sewing, fusion, an adhesive, or fasteners.
 14. Anadjustable pouch for holding an armor plate, comprising: an arrangementof panels bounding an interior cavity, comprising a front panel, a firstside panel connected to the front panel along a first side peripherythereof, a second side panel connected to the front panel along a secondside periphery thereof opposite the first side periphery, a bottom rearpanel connected to the front panel along a bottom periphery thereofextending between the first side periphery and the second sideperiphery, and an upper rear panel connected to the front panel along anupper periphery thereof extending between the first side periphery andthe second side periphery opposite the bottom periphery, the first sidepanel, the second side panel, the bottom rear panel, and the upper rearpanel being spaced from and overlaying an interior surface of the frontpanel to define the interior cavity and extending in converging relationtoward a central opening connected to the interior cavity; and atightening mechanism mounted on the pouch and having at least one lacecoupled to guideways mounted on at least three of the first side panel,the second side panel, the bottom rear panel, and the upper rear panel,respectively, and bounding the opening in a manner such that tensioningof the at least one lace by the tensioning mechanism will exert apulling force against the at least three of the first side panel, thesecond side panel, the bottom rear panel, and the upper rear panel topull them together toward the opening so as to be capable of bearingagainst edges of the armor plate when received in the interior cavity tohold the armor plate in the interior cavity.
 15. The adjustable pouch ofclaim 14, wherein the armor plate has a predetermined overall size andshape and the interior cavity has a size and shape that matches at leasta portion of the overall size and shape of the armor plate so as to becapable of receiving at least the portion of the armor plate.
 16. Theadjustable pouch of claim 14, wherein the first side panel, the secondside panel, the bottom rear panel, and the upper rear panel are integralwith the front panel and folded thereover to extend convergingly towardthe opening.
 17. The adjustable pouch of claim 14, wherein the pouch isincorporated into a garment.
 18. The adjustable pouch of claim 17,wherein the garment comprises an armor carrier, a tactical vest, acummerbund, a neck protector, or a groin protector.
 19. The adjustablepouch of claim 14, wherein the at least three of the first side panel,the second side panel, the bottom rear panel, and the upper rear panelcomprises all of those panels.
 20. An adjustable pouch for holding anarmor plate, comprising: an arrangement of panels bounding an interiorcavity, comprising a front panel, a first side panel connected to thefront panel along a first side periphery thereof, a second side panelconnected to the front panel along a second side periphery thereofopposite the first side periphery, and a bottom rear panel connected tothe front panel along a bottom periphery thereof extending between thefirst side periphery and the second side periphery, the first sidepanel, the second side panel, and the bottom rear panel being spacedfrom and overlaying an interior surface of the front panel to define theinterior cavity and extending in converging relation toward a centralopening connected to the interior cavity; and a tightening mechanismmounted on the pouch and having at least one lace coupled to guidewaysmounted on at least the first side panel and the second side panel andbounding the opening in a manner such that tensioning of the at leastone lace by the tensioning mechanism will exert a force against at leastthe first side panel and the second side panel to pull them together.